There are definitely more people with money here, than in South Georgia. Before, it was rare to talk to someone with a $1 million plus. Now, it's a daily occurrence. I'm not bragging, it's just that there's a greater population of rich people here; i.e., a target-rich environment. And there is definitely a market for brokers who share my point of view on the economy.
Talk about culture-shock! I live in a lake front, gated-community of palm trees and high-end German imports. Hell, our gas stations look better than many of the homes where I came from! I was going on an appointment to meet a high-end prospect and an associate told me to shed the coat and tie. The prospect was dressed casual and I got the account. In South Georgia, you don't do business involving any money without a coat and tie. It's taking some getting used to, but so far so good.
Well, I've got to go, it's bedtime for kids and 50-yr olds. See y'all....Uhhhh, I've got to lose this accent.....

With exception of the public schools, a great place to live. And i say that as a native Floridian who owns property in Fl, lives in Jersey and works in PA. You are definately in a target rich environment and the money is real.
Here is a Florida investor story:
I got the brilliant idea to cold call homeowners in Broward and Palm Beach counties. I bought a list spending $1500 dollars of my branch manager's money. I called the list and pretty much got blown off the phone. But I did get one really good prospect. My manager asked how it was going and i assured him that it was going well, money and time well spent. I based that on this one Boca Raton prospect that hadn't handed me my butt. She had a million dollars coming due, wanted Ginne Maes, and no longer wanted to deal with her broker. Perfect! She didn't want to deal with her broker because he was out west, and she thought he was too far away. I then told her I was calling from Philly, but would visit her in Florida once or twice a year. She said no probelm.
Finally, the money came due, I called, her, she loved the Ginnies I showed her, done deal! We proceeded with the account opening process.
During the process she asked "Where to send the check?" All was well until I said Pennsylvania.
"Where is that?" she asked.
"Ah, up the east coast about 1000 miles north of you." I replied.
"Oh no, you're too far away." she said.
"Well, you told me your broker was way out west, where are you talking about, Montana, Wyoming, California?" I asked.
"No, he's west of I-95 here in Boca" she answered.
Oh geez! At that point I knew I was dead in the water and saw a $20,000 commission slip away. There was no resurrecting it. Back to the phone i went.
So it goes in south florida.
Good luck Dobe!

Just to get an idea of where you stand, do you ehco this guys' sentiments?: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26656750

[/quote]
Thank you, snaggletooth.
Staying away from nose candy, no problem. Dunkin' Donuts...now that's a problem!
As for the video you referenced, future predictions about the demise of the US economy are a dime a dozen. However, I will say that if we continue along our current path, yes, we're toast. Logic dictates this inevitable result, no matter how much one ignores it. (Most recent example of "logic in action"? SUBPRIME.) When will this happen? Who knows, 6 months, 3 years, etc.
We have $62.7 trillion dollars in contingent liabilities (including SSI and Medicare). How do we pay for it? We have a negative GDP, a trade imbalance of negative $700 billion, a negative personal savings rate, unemployment of over 10% and annual inflation rate of 13%. In the early '90's, when the Case-Schiller Housing Index fell just 5% from its peak, over 1,000 S&Ls failed. Now, that same index is 18% below its peak and the only thing keeping bank doors open is that the bank regulators are looking the other way when it comes to valuing toxic bank assets. Feel better, now?
Well, don't believe me. But you may want to ask why foreign buyers aren't lined-up to buy our precious financial "powerhouses", anymore. Suddenly, ML and other financial "stars" can't get additional funding from sovereign funds. Now, the Fed and our own inept, broke financial "powerhouses" are being forced to bailout these companies. Why is that? Maybe the foreigners don't like what they're seeing.
But the dollar has been going up, lately. True, but the fundamentals keep getting worse. Which one do you think will eventually win out?
Gold has been dropping in price. Part of the reason is the rising value of the dollar, but also the fact that the Euro Central Banks have an agreement to dump 500 tons of gold this year. They've dumped 340 tons so far, with 160 left to go. The deadline for this is Sept 26th. Also, if gold is so bad, why have sales to foreign countries been in the double-digit percentages?
Well, it's bedtime for 50 yr old BEARS... night, night, everyone!

Oh geez! At that point I knew I was dead in the water and saw a $20,000 commission slip away. There was no resurrecting it. Back to the phone i went.
So it goes in south florida.
Good luck Dobe!
[/quote]
Thank you, BondgGuy.
However, I had to cry a little when I read your story. It brought up similar type memories of good prospects who dumped me for inane reasons, as well.

I see a couple problems with your analysis, you wrote:
We have $62.7 trillion dollars in contingent liabilities (including SSI and Medicare). How do we pay for it? We have a negative GDP (we don't know this for sure) , a trade imbalance of negative $700 billion, a negative personal savings rate (only if we do not count retirement plan inflows, which brings us to a positive 2.5% when included) , unemployment of over 10% (6.1% last measure) and annual inflation rate of 13% (5.52% last measure). In the early '90's, when the Case-Schiller Housing Index fell just 5% from its peak, over 1,000 S&Ls failed. Now, that same index is 18% below its peak and the only thing keeping bank doors open is that the bank regulators are looking the other way when it comes to valuing toxic bank assets. Feel better, now?
A little sensationalism is probably what you were going for....but I had to set the facts strait.